To understand when accents are used in Spanish in order to improve spelling and pronunciation

1. To understand when accents are used in Spanish in order to improve spelling and pronunciation

2. Spanish Accents á é íóú

3. Los acentos: Accents are marks that we use for three different reasons in Spanish. They indicate: • that a word does not follow the rules of stress ie... lápiz • a change in meaning from another word ie... sí / siél / el • Question words ie... Cuándo, Qué

4. Rules of stress: If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, then the stress falls on the next to the last syllable. eg: hola, casa, llamo, uno, cinco, bueno, hambre, fruta, fresa, vino, agua, leche cucharas, manzanas, viven, comen, beben

5. If the word ends in a consonant other than n or s, then the stress falls on the last syllable. eg: comer, beber, arroz, yogur, pastel

6. Any exception to the above rules must have a written accent. They fall mainly into the following groups:

7. Words with a stressed final vowel eg: café, está, champú which includes lots of verbs in the past tense: eg: bebí, comí, compré, pagué

8. Words ending in n or s and stressed on the last syllable: eg: jamón, melón, melocotón inglés, japonés, portugués Words ending in a consonant other than n or s and stressed on the next to last syllable: eg: Cádiz, lápiz, Jiménez, Almodóvar

9. Words stressed on any other syllable eg: riquísimo, buenísimo, malísimo Córdoba, teléfono, kilómetro

10. Accents • Always go on a vowel • Are a strong mark beginning right over the middle of a vowel and going up at an angle to the right. á

11. OK – let’s have a go Do the following have accents and if so where?

12. pasta pollo tome sali gato perro pedi rata coloque bocadillo conejo serpiente cambio maquillo arregle afeite

13. pajaro semafaro Barcelona Zaragoza chocolate Caceres comico miercoles limon cancion martes cartas cortes coches jabon comen